To wonder if being attractive and young looking seems to be the main point of being a woman..

[Stylishkidintheriot]

Just now it feels (well from the media) that the most important qualities for a woman are to a) be attractive, b) be slim and c) look young

everywhere I go I see women who seem to have had work done to themselves.

and I’m just fed up with it. I don’t want to spend my time, energy and money trying to look good. I just want to get on with my life.

who’s with me?

I don’t think necessarily blonde (that’s just a type) but of course men like young, attractive women. And so women strive to be like that. It’s not exactly news.

Conversely DH likes celebrities that are 10-15 years older than him. I’m younger than him though, so think my prime years are still ahead of me!

I’ve never been considered especially attractive but I’ve got a lovely husband and a good job, so youth and looks are not the be all and end all.

We all get old so best not to put too much emphasis on looks or you’ll lack substance when you’re no longer young and desirable.

This is like the "I'm the only fat person I know!" thread.
So I guess OP is only woman she knows who hasn't had "work" done.
And everyone ever white & blonde is a gorgeous bombshell.
I guess...

True but the way teenage girls dress in my area gives me great hope for the future!

They wear 90s style baggy clothing and flats. Minimal make up and unfussy hair. They look amazing and happy in their skin. It’s mostly a middle class kind of area but normal rather than posh. They’re always having interesting conversations too. It’s lovely to see and I hope they reflect a wider trend.

I've worked in largely male environments and largely female environments and found that female was worse for being judgemental on appearance.

I'm an old woman and can tell you that 'the media' (or Men) have always pushed the idea that a woman HAS to be young, slim and attractive to have any worth.

Young men like Victoria Beckham and the other influencers? I think this idea that it's 'men' or 'patriarchy' is simply trying to push the blame out for our own failings. Peer pressure is a major driver especially for the young when we get these ideas imprinted. We do it to ourselves.

@Diverseopinions I've no real facts but I do suspect that MumsNet is largely white female probably middle class and this topic like many simply shows they have their own hang ups.

Men can be quite pathetic & insecure tbh and I don't know why women are keen to impress them.

Doesn't this topic and the last bit of the sentence suggest that women are also pathetic & insecure simply because they feel the need to impress.

In the words of the inimitable Kathy Burke..."men would fuck a ham sandwich".

Place no value in their preferences.

😀😁

Told OH this, he says its cause they taste better when you eat them and they don't expect you to talk to them after.

It isn't just women though , I have teenage ds and they spend ages getting ready , right haircuts , clothes , trying go bulk out in the gym to fit an image that they see
Also women are guilty of fawning over attractive men etc and ignoring the not so , even you have called the men you work with geeky
Such double standards on mumsnet

I think some women tend to fawn over tall men in the same way some men do over busty blondes.

Van Morrison sang about the Girls Dressing Up for Each other... in 1971.